


New Guy

by drbubblegum



Category: Karneval
Genre: AU, Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-09
Updated: 2013-12-09
Packaged: 2018-01-06 23:00:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 495
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1112529
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/drbubblegum/pseuds/drbubblegum
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Gareki only takes the big jobs, and sneaking into one of the embassies in Karasuna definitely counts as big.</p>
            </blockquote>





	New Guy

"Are you new?"

Gareki freezes.  _Shit_ _._  He glances over his shoulder and sees the shadow of someone tall standing in the doorway. If he listens closely he can hear him chewing on something, too, like some sort of hard candy maybe.

"Just asking, because I haven’t seen you around here before, and I’m pretty sure I know everyone who works in the embassy."

"Yeah. New. Was just—" he gestures with the manila folder in his hand "—looking for the mailroom."

"That’s in the basement. Or you can just drop it in one of the pneumatic tubes—they’re really neat, actually. They send stuff all over the building with just a push of a button just with the—"

"Air pressure."

"Yeah! How’d you know?"

"Banks. Banks use them, too."

"Oh. Wow, you’re really smart, aren’t you?"

Gareki can’t quite make heads or tails of the situation. The guy hasn’t really moved from the doorway, and he doesn’t  _sound_  mad. Still, he got what he came here for—some personnel file on Rimhakka’s foreign minister for the buyer and a security schematic for himself. He casually puts the folder into the bag slung across his shoulder and moves toward the doorway.

"That’s why they hired me," he answers. "Because I’m smart."

He’s close enough now to see that the man in the doorway is blond and smiling. Judging by how tousled his hair is, Gareki would go so far as to guess that he’d been sleeping up until a few minutes ago. Hell, he doesn’t even have a shirt on under his hoodie.

Gareki swallows, mouth suddenly dry.

Not a good time to be distracted. Although…it wouldn’t hurt to cultivate some sort of insider in the Rimhakku Embassy, just in case he needed a reason to get inside some time later.

"Well, I’ll get out of here then," Gareki said when the guy wouldn’t move out of the doorway. "Got what I needed. Don’t want to burn the midnight oil anymore than I have to."

He doesn’t take the hint, and his smile doesn’t seem quite as friendly as it had been. “No, that wouldn’t be too wise, now would it?”

"No. Can you move?"

"I don’t think I can." He taps Gareki’s bag with two fingers. "You should put those back."

Gareki frowns at him. Something in the last couple of breaths have changed. Instead of the inane chatter that Gareki thought he could use to play off his theft, there’s a quiet thrum of steel echoing behind all the friendliness in the guy’s tone. Instead of leaning against the doorjamb, he’s shifted his weight between both his feet, knees and elbows loose like he’s waiting for Gareki to throw a punch or run past him.

He clicks his tongue.

"Please, I don’t like fighting."

"Then move and let me go."

"I can’t do that." He gives Gareki a rueful grin, something shimmering around his fingertips. "It’s a poor prince who doesn’t protect his people."

**Author's Note:**

> [On Tumblr.](http://drbubblegum.tumblr.com/post/69565539442)


End file.
